Onco Actu du 4 octobre 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
‘Dietary’ Vulnerability Found in Cancer Cells With Mutated Spliceosomes [Johns Hopkins] Researchers envision a patient-specific ‘oncology diet’ to exploit the weakness.
	1.1 BIOLOGIE - GÉNOME
Human Reference Genome Doesn’t Capture Full Genetic Diversity [The Scientist] A new study has identified more than 61,000 novel genetic sequences across 1,000 Swedish genomes that are absent from the human reference genome. Many of these sequences were also found in African and Icelandic genomes, and even the chimpanzee genome, suggesting they are ancient.
	2. ETIOLOGIE
In the Pancreas, Common Fungi May Drive Cancer [NY Times] “We have to move from thinking about tumor cells alone to thinking of the whole neighborhood that the tumor lives in,” said Dr. Brian Wolpin. The interaction between microbes and their hosts is extremely complex, Dr. Miller said, and further experiments will be needed before the new findings can be applied in treating cancer patients.
	2.11 ETIOLOGIE - ALIMENTATION
Meat’s Bad for You! No, It’s Not! How Experts See Different Things in the Data [NY Times] Because these questions don’t have black and white answers, researchers can look at the same sets of data and come to very different conclusions. Should recommendations be more concerned with populations or individuals? How much risk should there be to matter? Should personal preferences be considered? What should we say in the face of less than optimal evidence? Nothing? Play it safe?
	2.13 ETIOLOGIE - NMDA
FDA calls generic Zantac carcinogen levels 'unacceptable,' but pushes back against lab claims [Biopharma Dive] The FDA said it's asking manufacturers to conduct their own tests of ranitidine and to send samples to be analyzed by agency scientists. The FDA criticized the third-party lab for using higher temperatures, saying "that method is not suitable for testing ranitidine because heating the sample generates NDMA."
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
‘I really love the feeling’: As vaping injuries climb, doctors struggle to wean youth off nicotine [STAT] “These kids who are hooked on nicotine, they are going to have the withdrawal symptoms. They will either continue vaping or they will go to traditional cigarettes, which is horrendous.”
U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 18, illnesses surpass 1,000: CDC [Reuters] Judy McMeekin, an official with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the agency had collected more than 440 vaping product samples from 18 states for testing so far. “The samples show a mix of results and no one substance has been identified in all of the samples tested,” she said.
New York court blocks state ban on flavored e-cigarettes [Reuters] The ban, which was due to start on Friday, will remain on ice until at least Oct. 18 when the Supreme Court in Albany is scheduled to hear the case brought by industry trade group Vapor Technology Association arguing for a preliminary injunction on the ban.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
This Oncologist Doesn’t Want Another Person to Die From a Cancer That Was Detected Too Late [Fortune] Vogelstein recently launched a company called Thrive Earlier Detection that will commercialize a simple blood test to screen otherwise healthy individuals for many forms of cancer—long before they display any symptoms.
	4.15 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - IMAGERIE
Stanford chemist develop ‘infrared vision’ for cancer immunotherapy [Stanford] A new technique employs a bright infrared light that can pass through millimeters of tissue to illuminate tumors deep inside the body.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
Study Finds Breast, Ovarian Cancer Gene Tests Cost-Effective for Unselected Breast Cancer Patients [Genome Web] The analyses took into account the potential interventions, enhanced screening, and cascade testing options available for those with risky germline variants and their family members, the team explained, including mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, chemoprevention treatments, or double mastectomy/oophorectomy surgeries.
Breast cancer: Call for genetic screening for all [BBC News] Currently, only those with risk factors such as a close family history of breast cancer are offered the check. Researchers say screening everyone would enable women to make informed treatment choices and allow family members to take preventative action.
A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Multigene Testing for All Patients With Breast Cancer [JAMA Oncology] This study found unselected, high-risk multigene testing for all patients with BC to be extremely cost-effective compared with testing based on family history or clinical criteria for UK and US health systems. These findings support changing current policy to expand genetic testing to all women with breast cancer.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Boxing move knocks cancer cells out [Netherlands Cancer Institute] In laboratory mice they combined a CDC7-inhibitor with an mTOR-inhibitor, both of which are already used in research and which have been individually tested on cancer patients. The result: twice as many mice survived in comparison with those receiving current standard treatment.
	5.12.2 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES
Adicet Bio reels in $80M to push lymphoma program into the clinic [Fierce Biotech] Adicet believes using gamma delta cells can expand the use of engineered T-cell treatments, which, so far, have worked well in some blood cancers but seen limited success in solid tumors.
ARC-T? Alternative CAR-T startup bags $85M for clinical quest to redirect 'blind hunter' T cells [EndPoints] The idea is that instead of administering a CAR-T regimen that can only target one antigen — and thus needing a whole new process for a new antigen — you can administer CAR-T once and, if there’s a relapse or the ARC-T cells aren’t hitting the target, a clinician can inject new protein tags to redirect the hunters.
Neoantigen player PACT Pharma woos Tim Moore from Kite to run technical ops [EndPoints] Built on inventions by scientific founders Antoni Ribas, David Baltimore and James Heath, PACT’s isolation technology identifies specific antigen receptors that appear to be driving an immune response and engineer them onto other T cells from the patient. That final step doesn’t involve viral vectors — a key advantage according to Moore.
	5.12.7 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - VACCINS
Discovery may expand cancer vaccine capabilities [Arizona State University] They have found a common, new source of tumor mutations that could offer three levels of therapy with a cancer vaccine: 1) a broadly protective, or pan-cancer vaccine 2) cancer-type specific vaccines (e.g. breast vs. pancreatic) and 3) personalized cancer vaccines based on mutations unique to an individual.
	5.12.8 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ECONOMIE
Immunotherapy for triple negative breast cancer gets initial ‘no’ for NHS in England [Cancer Research UK] Gray urged NICE, NHS England and the treatment’s manufacturer to work together and agree a deal that will allow the medicine to be approved when it is reviewed next month.
	5.2 PHARMA
FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Cobimetinib for MEK Inhibition in Histiocytic Neoplasms, Research Led by MSK [Memorial Slaon Kettering Cancer Center] This designation was granted based on data submitted by MSK, in collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, from a phase II trial of single-agent cobimetinib for adults with histiocytic disorders (published in Nature in March 2019).
Janssen Announces U.S. FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation Granted for Niraparib for the Treatment of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer [Janssen] Niraparib, an orally-administered PARP inhibitor, is currently being investigated for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and BRCA1/2 DNA repair gene defects.
	5.2.3 PHARMA - ÉCONOMIE
After failed cancer test, Tocagen slashes staff [Fierce Biotech] This is a tough-to-treat cancer and has seen a growing pile of drugs miss their survival goals. But this failure cut deep for the biotech, and, to add to the woe, all secondary endpoints “showed no meaningful difference between the arms of the trial,” according to the brief update.
Pivotal failure triggers job cuts at San Diego-based Tocagen [EndPoints] Tocagen is circling the drain, following the crushing late-stage failure of its experimental brain cancer therapy last month. On Thursday, the San Diego-based company slashed its workforce by 65%.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA, NICE...
When can RWE translate into credible evidence? EMA officials discuss [EndPoints] In order to ensure that any new analytical methods are acceptable for regulators, the EMA authors say they will require testing and validation in nearly the same way as a new medicine is evaluated: “prospectively, well-controlled and according to pre-agreed plan.”
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Breast cancer deaths almost halved since 1989, UK figures show [The Guardian] Research suggests more than 130,000 deaths from disease have been avoided in 30 years.
Head and neck melanomas increasing, especially among boys and young men [Reuters] “The literature has always focused on melanoma and females and tanning. Our study is showing that we should not just target young girls.”
Record numbers beating breast cancer in the UK [Cancer Research UK] Breast cancer deaths in the UK hit a record high in 1989, when around 15,600 women lost their lives to the disease – but thanks to research developing new tests and better treatments, the death rate for women has since fallen by 44%.
	6.10.1 POLITIQUES (USA)
Trump 'wouldn't be surprised' if pharma was behind impeachment inquiry [Fierce Pharma] It's maybe the most shocking statement against the industry the president has made since he said pharma was “getting away with murder” in January 2017. This time around, he faces an impeachment inquiry from House Democrats, and his efforts to combat prescription drug prices have been hit by numerous setbacks.
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
A kinder research culture is possible [Nature] Farrar concedes that a focus on excellence also contributes to “destructive hyper-competition, toxic power dynamics and poor leadership behaviour” — the latter echoing the findings from Nature’s comprehensive survey on research-group culture last year.
	6.7.1 IA/BIOINFORMATIQUE
ICR forms collaboration with AI drug discovery company to develop new possible treatments in rare childhood cancer DIPG [Institute of Cancer Research] By combining AI and machine learning techniques with insight from its pharmacology and drug discovery researchers, Healx has been able to make predictions about which existing drugs, already used in other diseases, could be repurposed to treat DIPG.
	6.7.3 DMP
Data standards may be wonky, but they will transform health care [STAT] A universal interface would allow physicians or hospitals to decide which apps they connect to their electronic health records without getting permission from the electronic health record vendor, and would let patients choose which apps can access their electronic health records.